|
Germany by the 1960s had largely recovered from the disaster of Wor;d War II, at least Western Germany. The German Economic Miracle transformed West German and by the 1960s wee the most prosperous country in Europe--much more prosperous than before the War. German families had considerable disposable income, including income for fashionablr clothing. Major shifts were occurring in popular styles. The sailor suit that was so common before the War had completely disappeared. Clothing was becoming increasingly casual. We still see some boys wearing suits, but they were not commonly worn to school any more. Short pants were still common at the beginning of the decade, but were declinung in popularity by the end of the decade, becoming casual summmer wear. Knee socks for boys declined sharply in popularity. American styles like "T" shirts, colorful shirts, anf jeans become very popular. The popularity of jeans affects leaderhosen which were once popular for casual wear.
This Agfa snapshot shows an unidentified German family in 1960. Ir shows mom and dad and their five children. They look to be about 6-16 years old. We are not sure about the circumstces of th photograoh. We might have guessed they were about to go on a vacation trip. You can see their car behind them. Dad wears a suit without atie. The children are dressed casually, but dad iswearing a suit. This may not look like anyghibng sepcial, but it isreally quite spectacular. German before Wiorld War II was a country where few people except for the well-to-do had cars. Ad during the War, German cities were leveled and the country largely de-industrialized. Yet here only 15 years later, average Germans were better off than ever before as a result of the German Economic Miracle. The girl wears a dress. The younger boy wears Lederhosen and knee socks. The other boys wear casual short pants. The boy in back also is wearing shorts, but we can't tell what kind.
We note a young German family, we think in the early-1960s. It looks like a new suburban area made possible by the German Economic Miracle. The family has a rather American-looking front yard with what looks like a new Volkswagen. They had their photograph taken with their new baby and a boy who looks to be about 7 years old. He wears a long-sleeve white shirt, Lederhosen and white knee socks. We suspect they be headed to Church to Christen the baby. Both mom and dad are also dressed up.
A HBC reader has provided us this portrait of a German family. We thought at first it might might be an American family. The younger brother wearing tights, I think confirms that the family is German. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1960s to us. The three boys wear matching plaid suspender shorts.
Here we see an unidentified German family attending church in the prosperous 1960s. There are three children, a baby and a boy and girl. It rather looks like an Easter photograph in front of their church, but the folliage does not look right for Waster. Probably they are wearing their Easter outfits, but a nonth ot two after Easter. The children look about 6-8 years old. The boy wears a short psnts Eton suit with white knee socks. His sister wears a light-colored dress with white tighrts and "T"strap shoes. The snapshot is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1960s.
Here we see a young German family in 1964 (figure 1). They have four children with a baby just arrived. There are two boys and a girl. The oldest boy looks about 9 years old. They have the look of a modern family. They all wear casual clothes, including the parents. The casual clothing make it difficult to assess social class. You might think thatvit is a working class family. The boys wear identical colored shirts. one boys looks to be wearing Lederhosen. We are not sure abour the other boy. Its a little difficult to tell what the girkl is wearing. They are outdoors, but we are not sure just where. Given the small baby you might think they are at home, but the grass seems rather long for a proper back yard. Notice the boys short hair cuts, very similar to American hair cuts at the time.
A British reader tells us about a German family he stayed with during a swimming exchange in 1968. He provides a good description of the father, mother and their son as well as a descriptions of his adventures in Germany when he was 10 years old.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[Essays]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Belgin pages:
[Return to the Main German 20th century family page]
[Return to the Main German family page]
[Return to the Main German page]
[German choirs]
[German movies]
[German royals]
[German schools]
[German military schools]
[German youth groups]
[String ties]
[H-bar shorts]
